They say those born under the sign of Sagittarius (which I am) have a “lust for travel”. It makes me chuckle that “going anywhere new” has me positively tingling at the thought. I’m not sure if this motivation was born out of a simple day out to the beach with my family as a kid, filled to bursting with adventure and fun. My dad would have us in howling with laughter at jokes that weren’t really that funny, mom would hand out snacks along the way and the world would fly by in dizzying shapes and colours to the sounds of “cool jazz” emanating from the radio. I was having fun before I had even arrived. Standing on the shore as the salty ocean tickled my feet and trying to imagine what lay on the other side of the big blue; I decided at the age of 8, that a towel, a book and good company was all that one ever needed when you were going anywhere.

Years later I would have that same thought on a road trip through the Karoo with my best mate, only we added a good bottle of wine to the list. Our retinue of jokes, not that funny, would have us laughing for kilometres and hours on roads that seemed to stretch on forever. The sky is different there, an otherworldly blue, deeper and vital. As dusk would fall adding even more gravitas to a landscape that settles its easy silence onto shoulders, I would get that tingly feeling again as we pulled into a little town for the night. Hmmm… somewhere new.

I have to say that I love it all. In the car, on a plane, by boat or train, going somewhere new is a moment of exhilaration multiplied on each other. I am enthralled by the very process of soaking up the essence of a place. Buildings, roads, new skies, oceans strange and familiar, tapestries of culture, and languages that tease with my lack of understanding, coy with the depth that the words hold, to new tastes and flavours locked into the personality of who a country or town is. I can never have enough.

I have discovered that for those who play golf, travelling or going on holiday is an all together enhanced experience. It would seem that the best parts of the world are reserved for golfers. There is a drama and fierce joy of playing golf in the Swiss highlands, in the South African desert like region, along a Mediterranean coast in Spain or in an English country side. They are so different. I have seen golfers who are about to go on vacation close their eyes in breaths of anticipation. I recognize that moment. I have it every day. Somewhere out there is a place I have not yet been to and I’ll be sure to have a towel, a book, good company, a bottle of wine and a set of golf clubs!

With a lust for travel

Rob Greeff
Editor